01/06/10 2:18pm

Among the just-announced winners of this year’s Good Brick Awards given out by the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance is this not-so-recently renovated home on Nottingham St. in West University, which belongs to Carol Triebel and Rick Gist. And it does appear to have some good original bricks on the exterior. In a neighborhood where teardowns or the occasional awkward addition are the norm, Natalye Appel + Associates Architects designed an unusual renovation that kept the 1935 home’s outward cottage form, but twisted its innards around.

The design removed most of the home’s walls and doors, and smushed a core of closets, bath, and laundry into the center of the house along the driveway side. The new main living spaces are now arranged in a C shape around that core.

Then there’s the giant island, meant to do more than Kitchen duty:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

01/05/10 2:23pm

It’s a new year for Swamplot’s Neighborhood Guessing Game! And this time we have a new sponsor: The Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies at Rice University. If you win this week’s game, you’ll get free enrollment in the spring course “Houston’s History Told Through Its Architecture.” The class meets from 7 to 8:30 pm on the Rice campus for eight Mondays, from February 22nd to April 26th. Ordinarily, the course fee is $165 — or $155 if you sign up by February 8th.

Are you ready to play, then? Same rules: If you guess the location of the pictured home, you win! If more than one person guesses the correct location, the player with the best explanation for the guess wins.

If you already know this property, or if you come across it while we’re playing the game, please don’t blurt out the answer and ruin the game for everyone else. Instead, send Swamplot a link to the listing. Then submit an incorrect guess, but make it sound plausible! If you do this well, you’ll get special recognition when the winner is announced. And if nobody guesses the actual location, that winner could be you!

Here are a few more photos for you to study:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

12/24/09 12:02pm

COMMENT OF THE DAY: HOW STAGING SELLS HOUSES “Reminds me of house shopping a couple years ago. We were looking at a house in Brenham, as a weekend home. Pretty normal decorating scheme, until we got to the master bedroom. Purple walls, gold trim, lots of dangling gold items from lamps and headboards, pillows everywhere, a purple & maroon shag carpet–my wife & I looked at each other, and both mouthed “New Orleans whorehouse” to each other. . . . We ended up buying the place!” [SH snooty, commenting on Remembering the Purple Bedroom of Her Teenage Years]

12/23/09 12:07pm

Decorating a new room for her college-bound daughter, West U design blogger Joni Webb recounts the last bedroom redo:

At 15 – she stated she wanted to redesign her room herself and I decided to let her. Not that I really had a choice – she’s a willful, independent child who knows her own mind and arguing with her is hopeless. From West Elm she chose the popular cut-out headboard and nightstands, along with the matching cut-out shelf unit. The large mirror she bought at IKEA. The paint colors were also her choice – the ceiling was deep purple and the walls were a silvery lilac. I helped her pick out the fabrics – silks and crushed velvets. She has always fashioned herself a glamour girl. My mother took one look and proclaimed it “The Bordello.” This vision lasted three years.

And the new look . . . ?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

12/10/09 9:43pm

Who won the prize for this week’s game — a one-year individual membership in the Rice Design Alliance?

Somebody who made one of these guesses: Memorial, Bunker Hill Village, Piney Point Village, Sugar Land, Champions (2 guesses), Charnwood, the San Felipe and Voss area, Katy, Cinco Ranch, “Memorial/Kirkwood area,” “Memorial/Dairy Ashford area,” Richmond Ave. inside the Beltway, Riverside Terrace, Fleetwood (2), Quail Valley, Greenwood Forest, Hedwig Village, Ponderosa Forest, Timbergrove Manor, along Sims Bayou near the Gulf Freeway, “Memorial Northwest, just north of Louetta and off of Champion Forest,” and Sandalwood.

Congratulations to Phil Hyde, for winning with this:

This house has some obvious updates, like the granite countertops. But the herringbone floors and wood paneling scream 70’s. Very typical of houses in Fleetwood.

Would you like your membership wrapped? Also guessing Fleetwood was this week’s runner-up, KimmerTX.

Let’s have a look:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

12/08/09 3:07pm

How about another round of the Neighborhood Guessing Game? There’s a Rice Design Alliance membership waiting for the winner!

You know the drill: We want you to guess where this home is! If you guess correctly, you win! If more than one person guesses the correct neighborhood, the prize goes to the player who gave the best explanation for the guess.

If you know this home already, or if you come across it online while we’re playing, please don’t blurt out the answer and ruin the fun for everyone else. Instead, send Swamplot a link to the listing, then submit your own incorrect guess. Make it sound convincing! If you do that well, you’ll get special recognition when the winner is announced. And if nobody guesses the correct neighborhood, that winner could be you. (That’s how last week’s winner won!)

First, you’ll want to look at a few more photos:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

12/03/09 11:57pm

None of you guessed the correct location for this week’s mystery home. But we have a prizewinner for that Rice Design Alliance membership!

Here’s where you thought the home might be: Friendswood, Timbergrove Manor (5 guesses), Lazybrook (2 guesses), Oak Forest (2), Westbury, Willowbrook, Shepherd Forest, Spring Branch (2), Sharpstown, Meyerland, Westwood, Willowbend, Braes Heights, Ayrshire, Afton Oaks, Lynn Park, Old Braeswood, Braeburn Valley (2), Bellaire, and Maplewood.

Since nobody guessed it, we’re giving a one-year individual membership in the Rice Design Alliance to a player who wrote in to identify the listing, then posted a couple of solid decoy guesses:

While the funky kitchen floor throws me off a bit, I’m going to guess based on the traditional furniture that they are Afton Oaks-dwellers.

and

Sorry – Afton Oaks OR Lynn Park (behind Highland Village). That whole area has that real estate tension between renovating old ranches or mowing them down to build a brand-new faux-something.

Congratulations, LT. You’ve won the week!

So where is this home?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

12/01/09 10:06pm

Were you thinking about trying your luck with another Neighborhood Guessing Game? Now’s your chance!

If you can guess the location of the pictured home, you’ll win a one-year individual membership in the Rice Design Alliance. If more than one of you names the correct neighborhood, the prize will go to the player who provided the best explanation for the guess.

As usual, if you know this home already — or if you come across it while we’re playing — please don’t blurt out the answer and ruin the game for all the other players. Instead, send Swamplot a link to the listing — so we know what you’re doing — and then make an incorrect guess. Make it sound plausible — enough to throw other players off track — and you’ll get special recognition when the answer is announced. And if nobody guesses the correct neighborhood, you could win the prize!

How about we look around the place for a bit?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

11/19/09 11:03pm

We have a winner for this week’s Neighborhood Guessing Game! Who won that membership in the Rice Design Alliance?

First, here’s where you guessed this home might be: Southampton (2 guesses), Bellaire (3 of you), Tanglewood, Champions (2), “off Memorial near the Tollway,” Baytown (2), “Gessner and Wilcrest area,” Pearland, Sugar Land, The Woodlands (2), Katy, Southampton, the Heights, Briar Forest, Downtown, Memorial, West University, Deer Park, League City, Clear Lake, Greatwood, Willowbrook, Spring, Champions, Kingwood, Midtown, Montrose, Rice Military, Camp Logan, Garden Oaks, Oak Forest, Timbergrove Manor (2), Upper Kirby, the Galleria, Afton Oaks, Gulfton, Spring Branch, Sharpstown, Alief, Braeburn, Tanglewilde, Westchase, Barker Cypress, Greenspoint, Cinco Ranch, EaDo, River Oaks (2), “Wards 1-6,” Riverside Terrace, Avondale, “just inside the Beltway, just off Memorial Dr.,” West Lane Place, “somewhere south of Richmond and west of Hillcroft,” “the Stoney Brook or Westbriar/Tanglewilde area,” Tealwood, and “the Memorial/Gessner area.”

The winner of a one-year individual membership in the RDA is mojo jojo, for pinpointing the home with this entry:

The decorations in this home point to outside the loop, around the beltway or beyond! The photos give very little indication to era, except for the kitchen. From the knob placement on the cabinets (I betcha that these cabinets original had yellow or green ceramics knobs), to the custom built vent apron over the island, this kitchen screams 70’s!!! . . .

What leads me to the location is the fact that the home has almost no yard, as seen in the many photos which show the ivy covered wall outside of every window. This leads me to the many townhome communities built in the 70’s and 80’s, around the Beltway.

My scientific calculations, lead me to believe that this home is just inside the Beltway, and just off Memorial Dr.

Congratulations, mojo jojo!

We’re also handing out an honorable mention to movocelot, for being kinda close too. Now just where is this place?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

11/17/09 11:47pm

Another Neighborhood Guessing Game, and this time there’s a prize! If you win, you get a one-year individual membership in the Rice Design Alliance! Are you ready to play?

All you need to do to win is guess the location of the pictured home. If more than one of you guesses the correct neighborhood, the player who provided the best explanation for the guess gets the prize.

If you already know this home, or if you come across it while we’re playing the game, please don’t spill the beans and ruin the fun for everyone else. Instead, send Swamplot a link to the listing (so we’re clued in), then submit a well-argued but just-plain-wrong guess. If you do this well and fool a few readers in the process, you’ll get special recognition for your efforts. And if nobody guesses the actual neighborhood, you could win the prize!

Let’s see a few more photos now, yo?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

11/16/09 11:52pm

Some very smart and interesting guesses in this week’s Neighborhood Guessing Game!

Here’s where you thought this home might be: “Off of Highway 249, Jones Rd. and Louetta,” West University, Katy, Lakeside Estates, “around the Augusta/Bering area” (2 guesses), Riverside Terrace (also 2), “that strip between Almeda and 288,” Lakeside Place, “Barker’s Landing, between Memorial and I-10, behind the BP compound,” Gaywood, Braeswood Place, Ayrshire, Braes Heights, Braes Oaks, Braes Manor, Braes Terrace, Emerald Forest, Southern Oaks, the Rossmoyne Addition (near Bonnie Brae and Graustark), Wilchester, Clute, Meyerland, Memorial, FM 1960, along Yorktown and Sage in the Galleria, “just south of Memorial City Mall, maybe on Gessner,” Westhaven Estates, “one of the Fleetwood neighborhoods near Memorial and Highway 6), Montrose, “within a mile or 2 of Memorial and 610,” Sugar Land (2), Richmond, Sugar Creek, Quail Valley, “along Cypresswood and Louetta,” the Energy Corridor, Prestonwood Forest, “East of Eden,” The Woodlands (3), Dickinson, along Dickinson Bayou, Champions, Champion Forest, “that River Oaks Lite neighborhood between Shepherd and Kirby, north of Westheimer,” Pecan Grove, Tanglewood, Vatican City (2), Bellaire, the Museum District, Willow Meadows, Linkwood, “the ‘Ashford’ subdivisions along Briarforest west of Kirkwood,” “the older subdivisions in Pearland and Friendswood along Clear Creek,” Bay Oaks in Clear Lake, Idylwood, Briargrove Park, Spring Valley, Northfield in Fondren Southwest, Lazybrook, Timbergrove Manor, “the Shepherd Forest/Brookhollow area,” Inwood Forest (2), Bayou Bend, “the Woodstone/Woodlake Forest/Hudson Oaks area,” Tealwood, “I-10, just before the Beltway, north side of the highway,” Kingwood, River Oaks, “on Breakwood by 610 South,” Townhouse Manor, and “one of the more upscale subdivisions in outer Mongolia.”

Matt Mystery wins this one with his close-enough, uh . . . 19th guess:

The paneling is the main clue but the ceiling height is what is so mysterious – not just a high ceiling. Not a two story ceiling. It’s a one and one-half story ceiling. Wherever it is, I suspect it is a custom home. Some built custom homes in “tract” subdivisions which is what I’m wondering about – some other possibilities could be Bellaire, the Museum District, Willow Meadows, Linkwood, the “Ashford” subdivisions along Briarforest west of Kirkwood, the older subdivisions in Pearland and Friendswood along Clear Creek, Bay Oaks in Clear Lake. So many possibilities.

Yes, but this is where it is:

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

11/13/09 9:37pm

Looks like there needs to be a bit more guessin’ for this week’s Neighborhood Guessing Game!

We’ve already extended the game for an extra day. None of you have it yet. But . . . it’s still within reach! Just where could this home be?

If you haven’t guessed yet — or if you’ve already guessed — you’ve got another chance to figure it out . . . over the weekend! We’ll let you in on the answer on Monday.

Photo: HAR

11/10/09 11:51pm

The winner of this week’s Neighborhood Guessing Game . . . wins the Neighborhood Guessing Game! Could that prizewinner be you?

It could — if you guess the location of the home pictured here! If more than one of you guess it correctly, we’ll award the first place prize to the player who provided the best explanation with the guess.

If you already know this property, or if you come across it while we’re playing the game, please don’t blurt out the answer and ruin the fun for everyone else. Instead, we hope you’ll make the game even more fun — by sending Swamplot an email with a link to the listing (so we know what you’re up to), then submitting an incorrect guess, meant to throw the other players off! If you do this well, you’ll earn special recognition when the winner is announced. (And if nobody guesses the actual neighborhood, that winner could be you!)

Ready to give this game a try?

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY